The present invention relates to a wristwatch containing a telephone device able to receive and transmit broadcast messages received and transmitted by an antenna.
It has been proposed many times to combine a wristwatch with a telephone apparatus adapted to be able to receive and transmit high frequency electromagnetic signals. The continued expansion of radio frequency telecommunication systems, in particular mobile telephone systems, has led to a growing demand for increasingly compact and light portable equipment. In parallel to the technological advances which have allowed the development of electronic circuits and radio frequency circuits of small size and the development of high performance power sources, antennas of small profile suitable for mounting in portable communication units have already been proposed.
For example, European Patent No. 0 186 804 discloses a wristwatch including a case and a wristband associated with the case. The case includes an electric circuit provided with an integrated circuit and a display device, the case being closed by a crystal. The wristband includes two strips formed of a flexible plastic material and a conductor forming an antenna, arranged between these two strips. One of the strips includes a thick zone, of convex shape in which a transverse hole is made to receive a bar which is used to hinge the wristband onto the case.
In a similar manner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,285 discloses an antenna which winds through the wristband of an instrument worn on the wrist.
The wristwatch disclosed in European Patent No. 0 339 482 proposes an antenna which is not incorporated in the wristband, but wound around the watch case.
In all the aforecited examples, the antenna is arranged in immediate proximity to the wrist of the person carrying the instrument and adheres to his skin in some way. As a result, the radio frequency signal available is partly absorbed by the mass represented by the wrist, which decreases the amplitude of the useful signal reaching the telephone device. It will thus be understood that the apparatus can only operate properly if it is located in a strong signal zone, which limits the geographical range in which this apparatus can operate with security and reliability.
In order to overcome the above described drawback and consequently to increase the amplitude of the signal received or transmitted by the radio frequency device, the wristwatch of the present invention is characterised in that its antenna is integrated in a tongue one of the ends of which is attached to the wristband or to the watch case, this tongue being able to be arranged in at least two positions, a first position in which it runs alongside the wristband at least partly and is merged with it and a second position in which it is moved away from the wristband and stands upright in the plane containing the circle defined by the wristband when it is worn.